Game Notes: Raptors Saved By Another Second Half Rally

* There’s no doubt Jameer Nelson is the heart, voice and leader in Orlando’s locker room. His voice was constantly booming through the locker room during pre-game media availability and he appears to be highly respected by all of his teammates. Great example of what a veteran should look and sound like on a young team.

* It was a small crowd when the nationals anthems were being sung but the fans that were here were loud and feeling patriotic. There were a bunch of whoops and hollars during the Canadian national anthem tonight due the mens national hockey team winning a gold medal this morning. Something else that caught my attention is there were nearly twice as many fans wearing Canada gear than Raptors’ stuff.

* Tobias Harris was on fire in the first half! Toronto tried Jonas Valanciunas, Amir Johnson and Patrick Patterson on him to no avail. Harris started the game shooting 6-7 from the field and had a game-high 14 points at halftime. He finished with a team-high 28 points.

* In the first quarter DeMar DeRozan saw a lot of different looks from Orlando. They had Tobias Harris, Maurice Harkless and even Jameer Nelson spend time guarding him. DeRozan had seven points at halftime while going 2-6 from the field. In the third quarter he did a better job coming off screens and attacking the rim off the dribble which helped him go 4-4 from the field while scoring nine points. He finished with 24 points.

* Toronto started the third quarter on a 23-10 run which helped them open up a 64-51 advantage. During that stretch they went 9-11 from the field and went 12-14 overall in the quarter. Thanks to a dagger from Kyle Lowry at the end of the quarter Toronto had a 36-24 advantage in the third quarter.

* Amir Johnson limped to the training room at the 5:41 mark of the third quarter with a sprained right ankle. He didn’t return to the game and is listed as day-to-day. He was limping around the locker room after the game but seemed to be in good spirits. I’m not a doctor, but I’m assuming he won’t play in Cleveland.

* On a night where Amir Johnson left with an injury and DeMar DeRozan had a slow start, Kyle Lowry put the team on his back. He was the emotional leader for Toronto (once again) and stuffed the stat sheet with a game-high 28 points, six assists and four dimes. He also earned the love and adoration of fans for scoring the 100th point of the game and ensuring they would get free pizza tomorrow.

* DeMar DeRozan doesn’t lack confidence. I tried talking with him about adjusting to having a taller defender on him and he quickly shot that idea down by boasting: “They didn’t slow me down. I just missed easy shots.”

* The air horn that’s now playing after every made three-pointer by Toronto is annoying. Yes, I realize I sound like an old man. No, I don’t care.

*Kyle O’Quinn is playing himself into a nice contract this summer. He’s an unrestricted free agent and as a 6’10 energy guy who plays with a lot of toughness he’ll be in demand. Tonight he stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists, three fouls and a steal.

3 – Heading into the game DeMar DeRozan needed three assists to tie his career high (204) which he set last season. He dished out four assists tonight.

7 – DeRozan is one of seven players in the NBA averaging more than 25 points per game this month (he’s averaging 25.1).

9 – Nine players on Orlando’s current roster were born after the franchise played it’s first game on October 13, 1989. Those nine players are; Maurice Harkless, Tobias Harris, Doron Lamb, E’Twaun Moore, Andrew Nicholson, Victor Oladipo, Kyle O’Quinn and Nikola Vucevic.

11 – Toronto has 11 home wins so far since January 1.

24 – Kyle Lowry scored 24 of his 28 points in the second half.

91 – Toronto has outscored their opponents in the second half in 13 straight games. They have a +91 scoring margin (672-581) in those games.

2010 – The last time Toronto was six games above .500 was February 24, 2010.

THEY SAID WHAT?

“The only issue I would have is if he could play defence and box out.”
Dwane Casey on coaching a player who is gay

“I thought we started setting better screens in the second half. I thought he was more assertive in the second half coming off of the pick-and-rolls attacking. In the first half I thought we took one dribble and kind of settled and then gave it up instead of being aggressive. I thought it was an adjustment we made at halftime to come off (a screen) with two or three dribbles instead of making a decision after one dribble. I thought that adjustment DeMar made was huge for him and Kyle (Lowry).”
Dwane Casey on adjustment that helped DeMar DeRozan have a better second half

“They didn’t slow me down. I just missed easy shots. I don’t look at it as nobody slowing me down or make tougher shots. I just missed shots and I couldn’t really get into a rhythm because I got those three quick fouls.”
DeMar DeRozan when I asked him about adjusting in the second half to having a bigger defender in Maurice Harkless guarding him

“We need to come out with more energy and not ease ourselves into games. We’re not that good of a team to ease ourselves into games. We’ve got to come out and play hard-nosed and with intensity from the start.”
Kyle Lowry on how to fix the slow starts currently plaguing the team

“I think we set basketball back 15 years with how we played in the first half.”
Dwane Casey

PODCAP

Audio from Dwane Casey, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.

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